If you’ve managed to secure some eggs, here’s a tasty dish from the Parsi cuisine which essentially revolves around eggs… Even if they were an acquired taste for Perzen Patel.
I’ve always been mentally allergic to eggs. I’ll eat cakes that have eggs and dishes where I can’t see or taste the egg. But scrambled eggs, fried eggs, quiches, eggs bene, boiled eggs are all out.
This would be an okay thing to be allergic to except that I’m a Parsi. And my community is obsessed with eggs. In any and every form.
Eede translates to egg and “per eedu” literally means “egg on top”. Open any Parsi cookbook, and you will find at least a handful of different akoori’s as well as dishes like mango per eedu (eggs on mango), tomato per eedu (eggs on masala tomato) and even eggs cooked on clotted cream or malai per eedu. We even have a wintry egg fudge, Eeda Pak made with 25 egg yolks!
Some stories say that our egg mania finds its roots in ancient Iran where my ancestors lived before they were persecuted and migrated to India. In ancient Iran, eggs were seen as a symbol of fertility and new life. Of course, eggs are also a cheap way to bulk up leftovers. And, a great source of protein. Which likely also has something to do with our egg fascination.
As a blogger, I simply ignored all these egg recipes and wrote about other stuff. But when I graduated to becoming a caterer, I had to serve up some classic egg dishes. I started with an akoori (because that’s the only egg dish I can stand) but my clients were not satisfied. Sheena wanted to hear about my favourite egg dish growing up. (Ummm..none?) Perin wanted to share her experience eating poro pav (omelette sandwich) at school . (Why why why?) Ravi reminisced about eating Kheema per eedu (eggs on spiced mince) at Kayani cafe, assuming I loved eating it too.
And so it continued.
At their insistence, I tried all of these and slowly, before I knew it, I was in love. I still can’t eat scrambled eggs, but I do like a good Wafer per Eedu. It feels like a good starting point for this imposter.
What is Wafer per eedu?
It’s literally, eggs on wafers (more commonly known in New Zealand as potato chips or crisps). I always find myself making this dish the day after a party when I have half-eaten bags of chips lying around the house.
It comes together in five minutes and you can feel a bit righteous finishing off the chips now that you’re eating them with eggs – you’re joining the #nofoodwaste movement!
WAFER PER EEDU
Serves Two
- 4 eggs
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 100 gm potato chips (or potato wafers)
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- Handful chopped fresh coriander leaves
- Optional: Warm toasted bread
In a small saucepan, warm the ghee. When it’s hot, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and ginger-garlic paste. Stir until the “raw” smell from the ginger and garlic is gone. Add the turmeric powder and mix.
Crush the wafers in your palms and add them to the pan. Gently mix until combined. In another bowl crack the eggs open, add in your salt and whisk them together.
Now, pour the eggs on top. Make a few holes in your wafer layer to allow the egg to go in and bind the potato layer. Lower your heat and cover the pan.
Cook for 2-3 minutes until the egg is cooked. Uncover the pan and garnish with the coriander leaves. Cut into two and plate up the wafer per eedu. Serve with warm toasted bread.
